Tina Turner, ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, dies aged 83 in Switzerland

Published

12 months ago

May 24, 2023

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Tina Turner – one of rock’s great vocalists and most charismatic performers – has died aged 83.

Her spokesperson said: “Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland.

“With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.”

‘The world loses a music legend and a role model’ – latest tributes | Live updates

The US-born star was one of rock’s iconic singers, known for her electric stage presence and hits including The Best, Proud Mary, Private Dancer and What’s Love Got to Do With It.

Among the first to pay tribute were Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John, Diana Ross, Bette Midler and Giorgio Armani.

“She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer,” said Rolling Stones frontman Jagger.

“She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”

Sir Elton posted a picture of himself with Turner and said she was “untouchable” and a “total legend on record and on stage”.

Turner previously had intestinal cancer and a stroke, revealing in 2018 that her husband had donated a kidney to save her life as she contemplated assisted suicide.

Turner found fame in the 1960s alongside ex-husband Ike Turner, with the classics River Deep, Mountain High and Nutbush City Limits among their hits.

The domestic abuse Ike subjected her to – and her struggle to break free – was documented in a 1993 film starring Angela Bassett, which won three Oscars.

Turner’s life story was also immortalised in a popular West End show that is still running.

The singer’s popularity waned by the end of the 1970s and her days in the limelight appeared over, with Turner mainly playing the cabaret circuit as a heritage act.

However, her career was dramatically resurrected in 1983 when a cover of Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together became a huge hit.

Turner, then in her forties, signed a new contract with Capitol Records which led to the Private Dancer album in 1984.

It went on to sell more than 10 million copies and established her as a mega-star.

The title track from Private Dancer, as well as What’s Love Got to Do With It, and I Can’t Stand the Rain were among the album’s seven singles.

Her most well-known song – with its distinctive intro, steady build and powerful chorus – is probably The Best.

Released in 1989, part of the Foreign Affair album, it’s actually a cover of a song by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler.

Proud Mary is also an established classic, with Turner performing up-tempo dance moves to its “rolling down the river” refrain well into her seventies at live shows.

Off the back of her comeback, there was also a foray into film alongside Mel Gibson in 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

The movie spawned another hit, We Don’t Need Another Hero.

Born Annie Anna Bullock in a segregated Tennessee hospital in November 1939, Turner became a Swiss citizen a decade ago.

She lived on a sprawling estate on Lake Zurich with her husband and former EMI record executive, Erwin Bach, some 16 years her junior.

The couple met in 1985, with Turner once telling Oprah Winfrey it was love at first sight when he was sent to pick her up from an airport in Germany.

“He had the prettiest face. You could not miss it,” she said.

“It was like saying, ‘Where did he come from?’ He was really that good looking. My heart went bu-bum. It means that a soul has met. My hands were shaking.”

Entertainment

GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2024

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GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

GB News could face punishment after a programme with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules.

Regulator Ofcom said it was considering a “statutory sanction” after finding ‘People’s Forum: The Prime Minister’ breached impartiality guidelines.

GB News called it “an alarming development” that “strikes at the heart of democracy”.

The hour-long show, which aired on 12 February, saw members of the public put questions to the prime minister. However, it received 547 complaints.

Ofcom said in March that five other GB News programmes featuring politicians acting as presenters – including two hosted by Jacob Rees-Mogg – also broke impartiality rules.

The watchdog said the show featuring Mr Sunak was fine in principle, but “due weight” should have been given to an “appropriately wide range of significant views” other than the Tories’.

These should have happened during the programme itself or “in other clearly linked and timely programmes”.

It said Mr Sunak “had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election”.

“We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News,” it added.

The channel was quick to hit back at the ruling and denied breaking the impartiality rules.

“The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own prime minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital,” it said.

“Our live programme gave an independently selected group of undecided voters the freedom to challenge the Prime Minister without interference,” added the channel.

It said neither producers nor the prime minister had seen the questions beforehand and Mr Sunak was kept “under constant pressure and covered a clearly diverse range of topics”.

Entertainment

P Diddy: Rapper Sean Combs says video of him assaulting singer Cassie is ‘inexcusable’

Published

19 hours ago

May 19, 2024

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P Diddy: Rapper Sean Combs says video of him assaulting singer Cassie is 'inexcusable'

Sean “Diddy” Combs has said CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 is “inexcusable” and that he is “disgusted”.

Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing

“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” the rapper said in a video on Instagram.

“I was f***** up – I mean I hit rock bottom – but l make no excuses. My behaviour on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.

“I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”

The 54-year-old, whose homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents in March, has faced a series of public allegations of physical and sexual violence.

Footage obtained by CNN this week shows Combs – also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy – wearing only a white towel as he punches and kicks Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway on 5 March 2016.

The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging Cassie and throwing a vase in her direction.

Cassie, an R&B singer whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.

The 37-year-old sued Combs in November with the lawsuit accusing him of rape and violent behaviour during their decade-long relationship.

The suit was settled the next day, but it lead to intense scrutiny of Combs, who has since been named as a defendant in several sexual abuse lawsuits, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to the raid in March.

He denied the allegations in the lawsuits, but neither he nor his representatives had responded to the newly emerged video until Sunday.

After the footage emerged, Douglas H Wigdor, lawyer for Ms Ventura, said in a statement in response: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behaviour of Mr Combs.

“Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

Combs’ Instagram apology is the hip-hop mogul’s most direct response after six months of allegations that have threatened his reputation and career.

Previous statements have been released through his lawyers.

The security camera video, dated 5 March 2016, closely resembles the description of an incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles described in Ms Ventura’s November lawsuit.

The suit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 (around £39,000) for the security video immediately after the incident.

Neither he or his representatives have addressed that specific allegation.

CNN did not say how it obtained the footage.

Combs is not in danger of being criminally prosecuted for the beating.

The statutes of limitations for the assault and battery charges he would be likely to face expired years ago.

Entertainment

Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice denies claims of ‘abusive or threatening behaviour’ on show

Published

1 day ago

May 19, 2024

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Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice denies claims of 'abusive or threatening behaviour' on show

Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has rejected allegations that he displayed “abusive or threatening behaviour” while working as a professional dancer on the show.

The 33-year-old Italian dancer said he was “surprised” amid reports the BBC is looking into complaints about his conduct.

A legal firm acting on behalf of the complainants said the broadcaster is “evidence gathering” – but the BBC has not confirmed that any probe has been launched.

In the statement shared on Instagram, Pernice wrote: “To my dear fans, you will be as surprised as I am that allegations have been made about my dance teaching methods in the media this week.

“Of course, I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name.”

He added: “Those who have followed my journey on Strictly Come Dancing over the last decade will know that I am passionate and competitive.

“No one is more ambitious for my dance partners than me.

“I have always striven to help them be the very best dancers they can be.

“This has always come from a place of love and wanting to win – for me and my dance partners.”

Pernice signed off the message by writing: “Thank you all once again for your continued love and support! Giovanni.”

A statement from law firm Carter-Ruck to the PA news agency said: “There have been numerous serious complaints made to the BBC who are now in the process of evidence gathering.

“As it is still an ongoing matter no further comment can be made at this stage.”

The Sun, which first reported suggestions that an investigation was underway, also claimed Pernice had quit the show.

Neither the BBC nor Pernice has confirmed his departure.

Sicily-born Pernice has been on the BBC One celebrity dancing show since 2015.

In 2021, he lifted the Strictly glitterball trophy for the first time alongside EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis, who was the first deaf contestant to win. He had appeared in three show finals previously.

He also holds the Guinness World Record for most jive kick and flicks in 30 seconds, which he achieved on the BBC’s Strictly It Takes Two show in 2016.

The BBC was approached by Sky News but declined to comment.